The War
by saxwarrior
Summary: Equestria is attacked without reason or warning. War envelopes the country, changing everything. Rated T for disturbing graphic violence.
1. Rainbow Dash

Author's Note: A while back, my friends got me into My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I considered myself a brony for a while, but those days are thankfully behind me. However, I did take that time to start working on a Fanfiction that I never finished and never published. Therefore I present to you, my MLP fanfic. Enjoy!

All Equestria geography is based off a map I found on Google Images and it's set after Season 2.

Chapter 1: Rainbow Dash

She was flying through a hurricane.

Rainbow Dash beat her wings furiously against the howling wind as the ice-cold rain pelted her face like nails, but for all the good it did, she might have been standing still. The gale tore at her wings and she strained to fight against it. How could this be happening? Equestria's weather is supposed to be controlled by the pegasus ponies, right? What was going on?

She closed her eyes and thought desperately, _This must be a dream! It can't be happening!_ But she tried every lucid dreaming test she could think of and she knew that this was real.

The storm grew heavier and Rainbow gave in. She was thrown this way and that, battered by the force of the winds and just when she was afraid she wouldn't last longer, she found herself regaining control of her wings. She opened her eyes and realized she was in the eye of the storm. The wind and rain lashed all around her, but she was given a respite in the very center.

Below her, all of Equestria was flooded with the rainwater. She watched helplessly as a massive rain swept through the streets of Ponyville, washing away the buildings and drowning the poor ponies in them. She tried to dive and save them, but no matter how hard she beat her wings she couldn't move. How could it-

She awoke with a start and gave a yell. She sat on her cloud, gasping for breath, trying to regain her cool. "A dream?" she asked herself. It'd felt so real? She'd even done the mental tests to see if she'd been dreaming. How could it be?

"Dash?"

Rainbow looked up in surprise. Hovering above her was a regal-looking creature with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion. Her old griffin friend, Gilda.

"What are you doing here?" It'd come out harsher than she intended.

"I came to warn you," said the griffin. "You need to leave Equestria as soon as possible."

"Why?" asked Rainbow Dash, suspiciously.

"I don't know how well you keep up with current events," said Gilda, touching down on the cloud, "but tensions are pretty high between Equestria and Leogens."

"Leogens?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"My home country," Gilda said, losing patience. "To the south of here- a country for griffins, sphinxes, and lions. My father's on the War Council there, and he says Celestia's retribution is coming. I promised not to say a word, but in the spirit of the friendship we once had, I want you to save yourself. There's a storm coming."

Gilda's words sent a shiver up Rainbow Dash's spine. She thought of her dream. Suppressing the fear, Rainbow Dash stood tall and knocked Gilda off the cloud with her wing.

"Get out of here!" the pegasus yelled as Gilda caught herself. "I don't want to see you ever again!"

Gilda only looked at her lost friend with something like sorrow in her eyes. She turned around without a word and flew away.

Rainbow Dash sat on the cloud breathlessly for a while. Gilda said a storm was coming. What did that mean? An attack? War?

With the slightest hesitation, Rainbow Dash took off and started flying for Ponyville's library. If anyone knew whether or not this country "Leogens" was really a threat, it was Twilight.

Rainbow Dash touched down on the balcony and trotted inside. "Twilight!" she called, looking around.

"I'm here," Twilight said from the next room over. Rainbow entered to see Twilight lounging on a sofa, reading. "Hi, Rainbow," Twilight said, cheerfully. "What's up?"

"I'm not sure," said Rainbow Dash. "Do you remember my friend, Gilda?"

"The rude griffin?" Twilight said. "What about her?"

"She just visited me," said Rainbow Dash. "She said her father's on the War Council of a country called Leogens and she came to tell me to leave Equestria."

Twilight looked at her blankly. Rainbow couldn't read her expression. "Her exact words were ' _A storm is coming,'_ " said Rainbow.

Twilight stood up, and walked over, leaving her book behind. "I do know that relations between Equestria and Leogens have always been tense," she said. "But it's always been a difference of opinion on how to govern. There's never been open hostility. I find it hard to believe either country would take up military action against the other."

Rainbow wondered if she ought to mention her dream. "Twilight," she said cautiously. "What do you know about the magical properties of dreams? Can they... I don't know, predict the future or something?"

Twilight didn't appear to hear her. She was still puzzling over Gilda's cryptic visit. "I'm sure Princess Celestia would know if there were ever anything to worry about." Twilight paused. "Is it evening already?"

"Huh?" asked Rainbow, turning her head to look out the window. She hadn't noticed darkness falling. "It's barely morning," she said nervously.

"There's not a rain scheduled, is there?" asked Twilight galloping to the balcony. Once there, she gasped. Rainbow Dash joined her outside.

The sun was eclipsed by a massive hot air balloon the size of a zeppelin. Rainbow Dash heard Pinkie Pie's carrying voice from the streets below. "Ooh, a balloon! Is someone throwing a party?"

"What is that?" asked Rainbow. The balloon was blood-red and stitched on the side was a white lion paw.

"That's a Leogens war balloon!" said Twilight.

"But Gilda just left a few minutes ago!" said Rainbow. "She can't seriously consider that a warning!"

"Rainbow Dash," said Twilight, authoritatively. "They're going to start dropping bombs on us." The color drained out of Rainbow's face at Twilight's words. "I need you and the other pegasus ponies to get as much clouds together to slow them down. We'll have to evacuate Ponyville."

"I'm on it!" said Rainbow, trying to sound like her usual confident self.

"I'll shoot up a purple firework with my horn once everyone's clear," Twilight said. "It'll take time, though."

"Just hurry," said Rainbow Dash, taking to the air.

She grabbed a puff of cloud and smacked it, sending a bolt of lightning and a clap of thunder over Ponyville. "Calling all Pegasus ponies!" she yelled, flying higher and higher. "This is an emergency! We need thick cloud cover double time!"

Rainbow began gathering up as much cloud as she could and pushing it beneath the war balloon. More and more pegasus ponies aided her, getting enough dense cloud directly beneath the war balloon.

"Great work, everypony," said Rainbow Dash. "Let's keep it up! I want these clouds covering from the Everfree Forest to Sweet Apple Acres!"

The war balloon remained stationary over the town. They hadn't acted yet. Maybe they would have time. "Keep it up!" yelled Rainbow as the cloud was expanded enough to cover most of the town. Something was off, though. There were definitely not enough pegasi in the skies.

"Where is everyone else?" Rainbow called to a few passing pegasi. "Where's Fluttershy?"

"Most everyone's skipped town the minute that thing showed up," one of them yelled back as she pushed a puff of clouds to join the masses. "Especially the families with little ones."

Rainbow Dash understood that, but it made her uncomfortable being so short-hooved during an emergency like this.

"Rainbow Dash!" a young stallion yelled. "We've used up all of this week's allotted cloud!"

"Then start on next week's!" yelled Rainbow. "I want the whole place covered, you understand?"

"Look!" someone yelled.

A single object was falling from the war balloon. Rainbow Dash was too far away to make it out. The minute it hit the cloud, it went off with a fiery BANG! Rainbow felt the tremor and heat from a hundred yards away. "Get that cloud patched up, now!" she yelled, pulling a puff of cloud toward her and zooming toward where the bomb hit. More bombs were falling now and Rainbow zipped this way and that around them. Most of the pegasi were flying away from the war balloon, abandoning the cloud cover. "Come on, everypony!" Rainbow Dash shouted, but she didn't think she could be heard over the bangs coming from below. "Ponyville's depending on us!"

Derpy had added some cloud to the weakened cover. "Keep it up, Derpy," said Rainbow, feeling that the pony deserved some praise at the very least for not running away. "Get some more cloud, hurry."

She stuffed her bit of cloud into the hole and turned around. Something inside her froze. She saw a bomb being dropped from the balloon and she saw Derpy zipping over the cloud cover, oblivious.

She beat her wings furiously trying to catch up and screamed, "DERPY!"

The pony didn't hear her and Rainbow Dash was only twenty feet away when the bomb hit the clouds and burst. Derpy was engulfed in the flaming explosion and Rainbow was winded and knocked onto the clouds. She skidded across the surface and came to a broken patch.

The world was silent but for the ringing in her ears. The cloud cover was failing as more and more bombs were dropping and falling completely through. Rainbow watched through her blurred vision as entire buildings were blown apart. The shopping district of downtown Ponyville was burning with ten-foot tall flames. It reminded Rainbow of her dream that she'd woken up from only half an hour ago- or had it been a lifetime?

A figure flew into her line of vision. It was a pegasus pony that Rainbow recognized by sight, but didn't recall the name of. The pony reached out to her to help her but suddenly pulled back as another figured plowed into her, knocking her out of the sky. The griffin turned around to face Rainbow Dash and the pegasus recognized her friend.

"Gilda," she tried to say, but her voice wasn't working properly. The griffin said nothing and flew backwards. Rainbow thought she could see more griffins latching onto pegasi with their talons and hurtling them this way and that.

The clouds beneath her faded and she started to feel the vertigo of dropping. Her world went black as her hearing returned briefly, long enough to hear the ponies screaming.


	2. Applebloom

Disclaimer: I do not own MLP.

Chapter 2: Applebloom

The weak and rusty old carriage was trudging along beside the railroad. The way was too bumpy for Applebloom to get any sleep, despite how exhausted she felt.

Not for the first time that day, she tried and failed to not think about that morning. She had been in her clubhouse, reading a magazine, wondering what time Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell would want to meet up to play.

The first indication of trouble had been the roaring overhead of all the Pegasus ponies. Applebloom hadn't thought much of it at the time.

Then, Applejack's voice called out. "Applebloom! Applebloom, where are you?" The little pony had hopped out of the treehouse and raced toward her big sister. "I'm right here, Applejack!"

"Thank heavens!" the older pony had cried. "I was so worried. Come on. Let's get going." The two sisters began racing back toward the farm.

"Why?" asked Applebloom as they ran. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," said Applejack. Applebloom noticed how worried Applejack was. But she was her big sister. She would handle things. No matter what happened, Applejack would take care of it, because that's what she did.

Once they were clear of the trees, Applebloom saw it. Ahead, in the distance was a bright red something flying high above Ponyville. The clouds beneath it were broken and fading as things dropped from it. Applebloom noticed the bright flashes and loud bangs coming from the town.

At the road leading to Sweet Apple Acres, Big Mac was getting their old carriage fixed up, Granny Smith already sitting in the back. She looked more confused than scared.

"Let's get going," said Applejack, picking her little sister up by the tail and tossing her into the carriage before jumping in herself.

Applebloom couldn't see or hear anything that happened next, but she heard two muffled thuds and voices saying. "You're not permitted to leave. You are to stay here until the crisis is over."

"And just who are you?" asked Big Mac.

"We're Ponyville's new law enforcement," came a voice and Applebloom decided she didn't like it at all.

"I think you'll find that I don't much care for your law," said Big Mac. "I know I'm just a farmhand, but don't think I won't do anything it takes to protect my family."

The alarms started going off in Appleblooms head and she started to jump out of the carriage to join her brother, but Applejack held her back.

"Stay here, young lady!" she commanded.

"But I-"

There was a yelp of pain and a cry of anguish, then just silence.

"We're ready to go," came Big Mac's voice as he hooked himself to the harness and started trudging up the road.

When Applejack wasn't looking, Applebloom peaked under the canvas and saw two griffins lying on the ground. They were both dead. One's beak was crushed and the other's head was twisted completely around. That had been the worst for Applebloom, and she hadn't spoken a word since.

They'd been riding all the day. Applebloom didn't know where. She heard a train pass by several times, so she knew they were following a railroad. The sound of rushing water told her they passed over a river at one point. Applejack had given her only a few apples to eat the entire trip.

It was early on in the evening when they stopped.

"Come on, sugarcube," said Applejack, sounding tired. The two of them leaped out of the carriage as Big Mac helped Granny Smith down.

Applebloom's eyes widened in shock at the sight. Hundreds and hundreds of ponies with saddlebags and traveling packs were lined up at the foot of a mountain. Noble looking pegasus stallions wearing golden armor were driving golden carts like the one Twilight Sparkle had ridden in when she first arrived in Ponyville. They were ferrying several people up the mountainside at a time. Applebloom watched them fly upwards to the west face of the mountain where she saw the city of Canterlot. She'd only been once for the wedding. She hadn't liked it much, although the wedding had been fun.

Night fell as she and her family stood in line, waiting for a cart. Their carriage lay abandoned behind them.

She heard several commotions as the night wore on, raised voices and angry yelling, especially closer to the front of the lines. Every time she tried to get a better look, Applejack blocked her view.

Finally, she fell asleep on her hooves, but woke up what felt like a second later on Big Mac's back.

Night had totally fallen by now, but Applebloom had no way of knowing what time it was. They were at the front of the line and a unicorn stallion in armor was talking. "Take only what you need," he instructed as Applejack and Big Mac emptied their saddlebags of whatever they could to make their load lighter. Applebloom hopped down and Granny Smith held her close. "Hey, there, sleepyhead," she said softly. Applebloom thought she might've been crying.

They climbed into a cart and Applebloom clung tightly to her sister as she felt it lift up. The journey was significantly faster than the hours spent waiting in line and they arrived at the train station in a matter of minutes.

There were more guards up here, directing ponies toward large tents erected in the city's streets beyond the train ticket venders. Applebloom saw several ponies meandering through the crowd holding pictures of other ponies, holding them up to anyone who would pause long enough to listen. There was one youngish looking pegasus guard with dark lines under his eyes, holding a pair of colts on his wings and Applebloom was sure she heard them asking about their parents.

"Applebloom, stay on Big Mac's back, y'hear?" said Applejack and Applebloom complied.

Applejack hurried away and Applebloom lost her in the crowd until she saw the large hat reappear next to an alicorn with a dark coat that Applebloom recognized as Princess Luna. Applebloom saw Luna nod and Applejack rushed back to them and said, "Follow me."

She led them past the tents of ponies collecting measly bits of hay and cups of water. Everywhere they went, Applebloom seemed to catch the word "refugees." She wanted to ask Applejack what it meant, but she was too tired. She wondered if they were gonna stay in a nicer hotel like they had at the wedding, but Applejack led them right past it, too.

They arrived at the gates to the palace and Applebloom felt her jaw drop. The guards held their spears aside to let them pass and Applejack thanked them.

Another guard was positioned in the entrance hall and he led them up the stairs to a long ward. He opened the door for them and Applejack led the way inside.

They were standing in a large bedchamber with a single bed, a bath and walk-in closet. Applebloom would've been pleased if she didn't feel so sad and exhausted.

Big Mac collapsed on the large bed without removing his horseshoes, and Applebloom hopped up next to him. Applejack pushed her sleeping brother out of the way enough for Granny Smith to curl up next to him. Applebloom fell asleep instantly.

She didn't know how long she slept but the next thing she knew, there was a knock on the door that woke her up. It couldn't have been much later.

Applebloom opened her eyes enough to see Applejack answer it. It was Twilight. There was a sobbing gasp as Twilight rushed in to embrace Applejack, and the earth pony softly comforted her. They left the room and closed the door behind them.

Applebloom noticed Big Mac was awake too.

"Hi," she said, but her voice cracked. She hadn't used it since they'd left Ponyville, she realized.

"Hey, bud," he said kindly.

She didn't know what made her say it. "You kicked those two griffins in the face." Big Mac didn't deny it. "You killed them."

Big Mac reached out with his hoof and pulled his little sister closer. "I did what I had to do to keep my family safe."

Applebloom understood.

She let him hold her as she started to drift off to sleep. She still had so many questions, but she knew that Applejack and Big Mac wouldn't know the answers.

What was going on?

Who were those griffins?

What was going to happen to all those "refugees" in the city?

Were Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell okay?

And most importantly, when were they going home?

The questions raced each other around her head as she drifted back to sleep.


	3. Cadence

Chapter 3: Cadence

Cadence hadn't seen Shining Armor since the morning before. Per his request, she'd stayed in their chambers. She had no idea what was going on.

She peeked her head out the door to see a young Earth pony guard named Meadowsong, a personal friend of Shining's. She'd pestered him for information until he'd caved.

King Simurgh's armies had invaded Equestria from the south. Everywhere south of Ponyville had fallen. War balloons had bombed Ponyville, Appleloosa, Los Pegasus, Dodge City, and Balitmare. The armies had stormed the cities after the bombing stopped. Refugees had come to Canterlot from all five. She asked Meadowsong if Shining Armor was helping with them. He didn't say but Cadence pressed him and he told her that Shining was working on a counteroffensive, and that was all he knew and he really couldn't tell her anymore and she really needed to stop asking him questions.

So, she was forced to pace her chambers for hours, waiting for some word of his arrival. From her window, she'd watched the refugees set up camps in the city streets. She couldn't see them well enough to make out the details, and she couldn't help but wonder about them. She was a princess after all. Shouldn't she know about the subjects? She wondered how many of her subjects she could actually name.

After this uncomfortable thought struck her, she disregarded her husband's advice (she tried deliberately not to think "orders") and left the chambers. She snuck through a side entrance that wasn't guarded and slipped down a spiraling staircase.

Once outside, she galloped to the refugee camp and started helping out in any way she could. Several ponies were passing out plates of food, barely enough to feed a family. Still others were providing medical care for injured refugees. Cadence did what she did best, passing out her magical love to anyone in need of it. Arguments rose up and were quickly settled. Tensions that had been burning since the bombings started were calmed.

The refugees kept lining up for care the rest of the day and all through the night. Cadence fought off exhaustion as she kept working. She spoke to everypony who came up to her, giving them food, water, and blankets.

At one point, Cadence asked Carefree, a unicorn pony who was organizing the refugee camps, what they would do if they ran out of room for all the refugees.

Carefree sighed sadly. "We pray that we have the horsepower and resources to ferry those who can travel to Filly Delphia or Manehattan."

That didn't happen that night, thank Celestia. Another shift of volunteer workers came in and Carefree insisted that Cadence go home.

As Cadence walked back to the palace, she thought of all the ponies she'd helped today. She wanted to feel good about lending a hoof and helping all of them out, but seeing their tired, defeated faces had only made her pain worse. And feeling like that made her feel even worse.

The time had passed quickly over the day and parts of it were already starting to blur together. Her walk home passed equally fast and she found herself at the palace in no time. She walked mechanically up the stairs to her and Shining's chambers.

The sight outside her door was alarming. Shining Armor was holding Meadowsong up against the wall by his front leg, their faces barely separated, his expression startling.

"Shining, what's going on?" Cadence said, hurrying forward.

"Cadence!" yelled Shining, dropping Meadowsong and rushing forward to hug her. "I was so worried!" he said.

"Shining, I'm fine!" said Cadence.

"Where were you?" he demanded, with a mixture of anger and relief.

"I went down to the refugee camp to help," said Cadence.

Shining's eyes widened. "You what!? Cadence, you know you can't just dodge your royal guard on a day like this!"

"Shining, I dont-"

Meadowsong cleared his throat and Shining suddenly went red in the face. He ushered Cadence hurriedly into their chambers and closed the doors. "Cadence," he said, demeaningly. "You're a princess, and not just a princess, but the wife to a Captain of the Royal Guard!"

"Shining, I-"

"Please, let me explain!" said Shining, pacing the room uncomfortably. "The ponies out there- they're your subjects and you should care for them, yes, but there's going to be a lot of blame falling on the shoulders of the royal family, starting with Celestia and trickling down to Luna and you!"

"But I can't stand by and do nothing when I have the ability to help!" Cadence argued.

"That's exactly what you have to do!" Shining said, his voice raising. "Those ponies out there could very easily have hurt or killed you and what would have happened to you if the griffins had attacked Canterlot?"

"They didn't!" yelled Cadence. "Meadowsong told me that they were holding their position in the southern cities!"

At her words, Shining Armor's face grew a deep shade of red and he gritted his teeth. "Oh, don't punish him," Cadence said, dismissively. "You should have told me!"

"You don't need to know!" said Shining. "My guards can't go about discussing military plans, what if you're captured by the Griffins and they-"

"STOP IT!" yelled Cadence, sobbing, galloping away from him to the balcony. She looked from the window, crying softly, at all the ponies in their refugee camps, sleeping on mats in the streets, eating barely enough to keep a colt happy.

She heard the clip-clop of Shining Armor approaching her from behind. He nuzzled up to her neck and snorted pleasantly. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have gotten so angry... Just next time I ask you to do something, realize that I'm asking you for a reason."

Cadence wiped a tear off her eyes. "I will."

But that didn't mean she wouldn't disobey.


	4. Pinkie Pie

Chapter 4: Pinkie Pie

Pinkie felt quite out of place in Princess Celestia's war room. This most definitely was not her idea of a party. For one thing, no one brought any food.

When the bombing started, Pinkie was helping Twilight herd as many ponies out of town and to the train station as possible. She made sure Mr. and Mrs. Cake (and the babies), and Yankee Doodle Donkey were all safely on the emergency express out of Ponyville. Pinkie's tale started twitching once the cloud cover was broken and she watched as the bombs started falling and blasting buildings apart. She could feel the heat from them and a small part of her brain, in a sick way, reminded her of fireworks.

Her tail twitched once more and she saw Rainbow Dash falling from the sky. She shot up into the air fast as a cannon blast and caught her friend, bracing her for the impact of the fall.

She started racing toward the library with Rainbow Dash unconscious on her back. They made it to Twilight's balloon and Spike immediately blew a flame to get it airborne. As they made their escape, griffins started flying at them. Twilight stood tall and focused brightly, her horn glowing violet. She started blasting the griffins out of the sky, knocking them down to the ground. Aghast, Pinkie watched them fall, only to realize that they were just stunned.

The hot air balloon floated above the crowd of ponies traveling along the Southern Railroad to Canterlot. Pinkie begged Twilight to let the balloon down to help carry ponies weary from travel the rest of the way, but Twilight insisted on keeping their load light. Her drive was getting to Canterlot. Pinkie couldn't help but feel Twilight wasn't acting very compassionately.

They arrived at Canterlot as the sun began to set and Twilight led Spike and Pinkie Pie (who was still carrying the unconscious Rainbow Dash) up to the palace. A distressed looking Celestia greeted them and told them to make themselves at home in the guest chambers.

Twilight picked out a room for her friend, bidding Pinkie to wait there for her return. Pinkie tucked Rainbow Dash into the bed as Twilight and Spike went out to presumably handle the chaos.

With nothing else to do, Pinkie Pie just talked. She jabbered on about how sad she was for all the refugees leaving Ponyville and how sad she was for Ponyville itself and how she hoped so so much that everypony had gotten out okay until finally.

"Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

Pinkie gasped loudly. "You're awake!" She leaped onto Rainbow's bed and hugged her tightly. "Oh, I was so worried! I thought that fall might've really knocked you in the head!"

"It did," said Rainbow Dash, wincing and pushing her friend away. "Where are we?"

"Canterlot," said Pinkie. "Twilight fixed it up with Celestia to let us stay in the palace."

"The palace?" asked Rainbow Dash, sitting up so she could flex her wings. Pinkie heard the bones popping. "How come?"

"I expect because all the hotels will be stuffed full to bursting with refugees," said Pinkie, pointing out the window.

"Refugees!" said Rainbow, standing up and running toward the balcony.

They were on the wrong wing of the castle to get a good look, but they could see the lantern light and hear the dull roar of hundreds of ponies wandering the streets below. "Aw, man," said Rainbow. "Those... evil... twisted... oat-gnawing..."

"Hey, don't be rude!" said Pinkie.

"Don't be rude!" said Rainbow, staring at her friend. "Don't you realize what they've done? They attacked us completely unprovoked and we had no chance to defend ourselves! They killed our friends! I watched Derpy die!"

"Stop it!" said Pinkie.

"I'm gonna knock some heads," said Rainbow, rearing down to take off and fly south, as if to take on the entire Leogens army herself.

"You'll get your chance," said Twilight's voice, and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash both turned to see her and Applejack enter the room.

"AJ, you're ok!" said Pinkie Pie, zipping over to hug her friend.

"That's right," said Applejack, sounding weary. "Big Mac and I got both Granny Smith and Applebloom out in time."

"Thank goodness," said Pinkie. "What about the farm?"

"Aw, I expect it's been ransacked by those liver-lickin' vermin by now," said Applejack angrily. She, Pinkie and Rainbow looked to Twilight as if to ask, 'what next?'

"Celestia and Shining Armor are organizing a counter offensive," said Twilight. "Equestria hasn't had to use the full force of their military for centuries, but they're calling every able-bodied colt and stallion to help."

"What about mares, huh?" asked Rainbow, angrily. "Think us girls can't handle ourselves in a hotspot?"

"That'll be discussed tomorrow at the war meeting," said Twilight. "As the Embodiment of the Elements of Harmony, we're all expected to be there."

"Wait!" said Pinkie, realizing. "Where are Rarity and Fluttershy?"

Twilight hesitated and Pinkie felt a sinking feeling in her stomach and her hair definitely lost some poofiness. "They're not among the refugees outside," said Twilight. "I've instructed the Royal Guard to keep an eye out for them."

"They've got to be okay!" said Pinkie, jumping nervously from hoof to hoof. "They've just go to!"

"Yeah," said Rainbow Dash, sounding as if she were in something of a daze.

So, the next morning, Pinkie Pie found herself in the war council, easily looking the most out of place. The Royal Guard ponies were all black and white and every shade of gray in between. Celestia and Luna both looked regal in their coats of shining silver and dark violet, respectively and even Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack looked noble enough, but Pinkie only reminded herself of a stuffed toy. She wasn't nearly her happy self.

The other ponies on the court were several strong stallions. There was of course Shining Armor, the Captain of the Royal Guard, and a strong looking dark earth pony who introduced himself as General McArthorse, the General of Equestria's Earth Army and there was a red and gray pegasus pony with dark eyes named Major Raptor who led Equestria's Air Force.

When Celestia and Luna had entered the room, the other ponies had stood up and bowed. Only after the royalty sat, the rest did as well. Pinkie felt very self-conscious. She didn't move with the same military motions as the rest of the room.

"Gentlemen, we've been struck hard and suffered many losses, there's no denying it," said Celestia. Pinkie Pie clung on to every word, not wanting to miss it. "We've been deliberately attacked by the military forces of Leogens. Even now, King Simurgh sits on our soil, planning his next strike against the peace we've enjoyed in this country for so long. The vision of peace and prosperity my sister and I share for this country has been shattered. We cannot go back. We can only decide what must be done now."

Pinkie was getting goosepimples from listening to Celestia. She shook her head slightly to clear it.

"Captain Armor," said Celestia. "Share with us your initial reports from your scouts."

Twilight's brother, Shining, stood up and magicked a map of Equestria, showing red flags lining all along the south. "The Leogens sent war balloons in on the intial strikes and bombed the five major cities to the south; Los Pegasus, Appleloosa, Ponyville, Dodge City, and Baltimare. Los Pegasus was hit the worst. The cloud city has been destroyed, completely blown off the map. It held no strategic importance to Simurgh.

"There is little remaining in Appleloosa, Ponyville, and Dodge City. The Leogens Lion and Sphinx army have taken over those relatively smaller cities and used them to form a solid wall between us and the majority of the Leogens Army, making a counter strike on their border nearly impossible.

"Baltimare remains standing. The Leogens armies have established marshall law on the city and the surviving ponies. We don't have any word as to their treatment or condition, so we're assuming the worst- Labor camps, imprisonment, the works."

Pinkie Pie was reminded of the rock camp growing up. That really was the worst that could happen. What were they making the poor little ponies there do? Making more weapons? Making more bombs?

"Why have they held Baltimare?" asked Luna.

Major Raptor spoke up. "They know we're in bad shape," he said. "They want to hold as much of the eastern seaboard or else risk an invasion from our other enemies as well, the dragons across the sea."

"What's the likelihood that the dragons will aid them?" asked Celestia.

"Unclear, your highness," said Shining. "Relations with the dragons has been cordial at best. They have no real need to invade, but they've always had eyes for the gems buried within our soil."

Pinkie Pie felt like her head was spinning trying to keep up. The council members kept talking about people and places she'd never even heard of. What was she doing here?!

"What is Simurgh's most likely next move?" asked Celestia.

"We're assuming he'd like to take Canterlot, your highness," said Shining. "We've been making plans for evacuations since the refugees began arriving. As we speak, I have a dozen unicorns mining a tunnel through to the west face of the mountain. We can take refuge in the Fowl Mountains which will offer us some natural protection."

Celestia nodded. "How long would it take for us to move the refugees?"

"Three weeks," answered Shining, promptly. The war room was silent for a moment.

Then, Celestia asked, "And how long could we withhold a siege?"

"They lose the advantage of their war balloons at this altitude," said Major Raptor. "Even still, if the sphinxes use their magic, which they undoubtedly will, our defenses will be overrun within four days."

"Not to mention," said Applejack, speaking up, surprising everyone, "the food shortage we'll have with all these refugees coming in. From what I hear in the trade, Canterlot gets most of its food supply from the southern farms. How much have we lost since we lost Ponyville, Dodge City, and Appleloosa?"

Twilight answered, "Roughly fifty-eight percent."

Major Raptor huffed. "My princess, I ask your pardon, but what are these fillies doing in the war room? Are you sure this is the wisest place for them?"

Princess Celestia's eyes flashed dangerously. "These four brave mares have done their country great services in the past, twice now taking up the Elements of Harmony when all hope was lost. Their presence here is as crucial as your own, Major, and their devotion to this country, tried and true. And if you took the time to listen to them, you'd realize they speak the truth. Tell me, Major, how do we feed nearly a thousand hungry mouths with food supplies cut in half over the next three weeks? And what happens if the Leogens army lay siege and the tunnels aren't complete?."

Pinkie Pie's eyes darted between the Princess and the Major, who unhappily kept his mouth shut.

"Captain, triple your horsepower on those mines and triple their efforts," commanded Celestia. "I want that tunnel complete within the week and I want real time updates on their progress."

"At once, your highness," said Shining, who appeared to be struggling to keep from smiling. Pinkie wondered if he'd been doing that since the princess lay in to Major Raptor. Her suspicions were confirmed as Shining winked at Twilight as he left the room.

"General McArthorse," said Celestia. "Reinstate the draft. We need every able-bodied stallion to fill the horseshoes of our army if we want to stand a chance of defeating these foes."

"Mares, too!" said Rainbow Dash, and everyone looked at her. "What?" she demanded of them. "Do we want the numbers in our favor?"

Celestia and McArthorse shared a long pregnant pause, until Celestia said. "Females, too."

"Right away, princess," said McArthorse, bowing and leaving the room.

"Gentlecolts," said Celestia, "please excuse us. My sister and I need to speak to these four young mares in confidence."

The remaining military stallions, including Raptor, bowed and followed McArthorse out of the room. Only the princesses, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie remained.

"Girls," said Celestia. "I want to thank you for your decisive initiative in the evacuation of Ponyville. You saved a great many lives with your efforts."

Pinkie Pie smiled brightly. "No trouble at all, your majesty," she said.

"But," said Celestia, "I fear your presence here may be of little use."

The four ponies all felt their jaws drop. Pinkie looked to Princess Luna to see if she agreed, and was disappointed.

"You come to us with only four elements," said Luna. "Fluttershy and Rarity are missing behind enemy lines. For all we know, they could be de-"

"Don't!" said Pinkie, turning away.

"They're not dead!" Rainbow yelled at her.

"Girls, please!" said Celestia. "Unless we have all six elements, we leave the fate of Equestria in the incapable hands of the likes of Major Raptor. This is the worse crisis Equestria's ever faced. Total war has engulfed half of our nation."

"What if we went to Ponyville to find them!" said Rainbow Dash! "I'm the master of-"

"Absolutely not," said Celestia.

"But Princess," said Twilight, "We're perfectly able to-"

"Enough," said Celestia. "I have important matters to discuss with Luna. I want you girls helping in any way you can. Twilight, to the tunnel, organizing the mining. Rainbow Dash, go with Major Raptor, training with our fliers. And Applejack and Pinkie Pie, help out with the refugees."

With that, the four ponies were practically thrown from the room. "What was that all about?" demanded Rainbow Dash, angrily.

"I don't understand," said Twilight, more confused than angry. "It's not like Princess Celestia to withhold her plans from me."

"Not at all," muttered Applejack sarcastically.


	5. Dumbbell

Chapter 5: Dumbbell

The employees at the weather factory in Cloudsdale were in a grim mood. The news of war and brought with it a sense of fear that none of them had ever experienced before. One thing could be said for it, though; it was good for the factory.

All of Equestria was suddenly ordering more clouds for the use of cloud cover. The workers at the factory were double-timing and the manager had hired twenty-percent more workers to help the factory keep up with the Earth pony's and unicorn's demands.

Dumbbell woke up early two days after the bombings and got ready for work. Everyone was on overtime these days.

Half an hour later, dressed in his uniform and hard hat, he clocked in and started collecting moisture.

He'd only been working for a few minutes before alarms started ringing.

A shiver of fear shot up Dumbbell's spine as he dropped the load of moisture he'd been about to take upstairs to Rainbow Development.

A growing sense of dread filled a pit in his stomach. He and several others raced toward the window. It couldn't happen here, could it?

But hanging there, clear as day, was the war balloon he'd read about in the newspapers. It was bright crimson with a white lion paw stitched on the side. Pegasus ponies were fleeing from the ominous sight, screaming as they soared away.

Before they could make it off the clouds, though, the entire city was surrounded by armored griffins with wings spread wide and sinister looking swords and spears.

The griffins herded the pegasus ponies back onto the clouds.

The alarms were suddenly silenced and the lights went out. Everything was dark except for the light streaming through the windows.

In a blur, Dumbbell and the other workers were surrounded by the griffins, looking lethal in their golden armor. The griffins forced the pegasi out of the building.

Once outside, Dumbbell and the other workers were forced to line up with the rest of Cloudsdale. They were in one massive crowd, and Dumbbell was near the front of it.

"Citizens," came a voice, and Dumbbell looked up to see a Griffin flying high above them, speaking into a megaphone. "Do as you are told and no harm will come to you."

To Dumbbell, the entire scene looked ridiculous. They easily had the griffins out numbered four to one, but everyone was listening to them.

A couple of griffins were approaching on Dumbbell's left. His heard pounding in his ears, he leapt at them in a burst of adrenaline. He knocked the spears from their hands with his powerful legs and wings, and then he stamped them against the clouds. Losing all sense of thought, he pounced on them again and again until they were bloodied and bludgeoned. He completely ignored the other pegasi ponies in the crowd begging him to stop.

Dumbbell couldn't ignore the spear thrust into his wing joint, though and he whinnied in pain. He turned and was about to strike again, but he realized more griffins were rushing over to him, all their spears pointed directly at his wings.

The griffin with the megaphone was among them. He set the megaphone in and leaned in close to Dumbbell's ear and whispered. "Do you know what I call a hero?... Someone who gets other people hurt."

The griffin barked something in a different language, and two more griffins approached them, holding a terrified looking pegasus foal between in their claws. The lead griffin said something else, and Dumbbell realized what was about to happen, only too late.

"No!" he shouted, but he couldn't stop it. The griffins twisted the colt until Dumbbell heard bones snapping. "Please!" Dumbbell shouted with tears in his eyes. The lead griffin waved his claw and the other two dropped the poor pony.

"Paralyzed," said the lead Griffin. He flapped his wings and flew up above the crowd of gathered pegasus ponies. "Every time one of you revolts, another of your children will be hurt. We will not be so merciful after we've run out of foals."


End file.
